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  • New Music In Stores & Online: 5-13-08


    Sorry, folks. Last week’s set of releases was so crappy that I just couldn’t bring myself to post. Consider yourselves lucky. You avoided a hearty round of Clay Aiken and Chris Sligh jokes (yep, both former “American Idol” contestants released albums last week).

    Thankfully, this week’s set of releases is much better. Here’s what’s on tap:

    Death Cab for Cutie: Narrow Stairs : It’s kind of hard for me to explain what Death Cab sounds like. Think really strong indie pop with great songwriting. Ben Gibbard is an expressive vocalist, even though he won’t make anyone’s great singers list. Long story short, these guys deserve the hype. I found them with their last album, “Plans”, and if you’re not familiar with these folks, you should start now.

    http://www.deathcabforcutie.com/splash/

    (yes, the video is 8 minutes long. You’ll get over it.)

    Duffy “Rockferry”: It’s not difficult to explain what Duffy sounds like. Think Amy Winehouse. That is all. Amidst the wave of British female singers that have crashed our shores in Amy’s wake, Duffy is the one who has been compared to Wino the most-minus the whole drug addiction thing. Kinda sounds to me like a whitewashed copy, but I’ll be checking the album out anyway.

    Homepage

    Jason Mraz “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things”: Remember Jason Mraz? In the wake of John Mayer, Mraz was the smart-alecky, Boradway kid version of Mr. “Your Body is a Wonderland”. His second album, “Mr. A-Z” overdid it on the pretentiousness, which had already reached fever pitch by that time (remember when he popped up at the Gramy nomination ceremony only to receive ZERO nominations? There were a lot of happy people there). Anyway, everyone deserves a second chance, and this release (which has been preceded by a couple of EPs) might find Mraz dialing down the obnoxiousness a little bit. OK, I just took a look at the website. So, maybe not.

    Jason Mraz — Official Website

    Keith Sweat “Just Me”: It’s been twenty years and Keith Sweat still ain’t too proud to beg. The master of R&B begging is back after a six-year absence, and he’s changed absolutely nothing. Sweat may be approaching 50, but the grooves are still smoove, and Mr. Sweat is still whining and begging for you to love him down, baby!! Keyshia Cole guests.

    http://www.thesweathotel.com/

    Foxy Brown “Brooklyn’s Don Diva”: I say Li’l Kim, Remy Ma and Foxy should have linked up behind bars and put together a group or something. At any rate, with two of the three out of the clink, that won’t happen, so Foxy’s long-delayed fourth album finally arrives (this album has been pushed back so many times that she’s served her entire term since it’s initial release date). If you don’t buy this album, she might throw a BlackBerry or some hair glue at you. Watch out.

    (apparently, Foxy doesn’t have a website)

    Most of this week’s releases similarly come from the “Where The Hell Have YOU Been?” category. Remember Filter? They’re back with an album. How about Ashlee Simpson’s former boyfriend Ryan Cabrera? He’s back with a skeevy new look (and now is dating one of Lisa Marie Presley’s kids) and an independently-released album. And if you’re hankering for some of that mid-Eighties pop/rock flavor, you might want to check out Bryan Adams’ new album, cleverly titled “11”. Hint, it’s his 11th album.

    OH!! Speaking of long vacations, the New Kids on the Block return with their first group release in fourteen years. “Summertime” is available for purchase at iTunes and all the other major subscription/pay-download services. Hangin’ tough!!

    Happy shopping, folks.

    And here’s the full list…
    http://www.pauseandplay.com/cdfront.htm

  • Chart Chat 5/11/08: Usher, Colbie Caillat, Plies & More!!


    Happy once de Mayo, ladies and gentlemen!! Let’s travel into the land of the Top 20 singles and albums, courtesy of Billboard Magazine!!

    Top 20 Albums:

    1) “Hard Candy” Madonna
    2) “E=MC2” Mariah Carey
    3) “Spirit” Leona Lewis
    4) “Lyfe Change” Lyfe Jennings
    5) “Songs from the Sparkle Lounge” Def Leppard
    6) “Rising Down” The Roots
    7) “Third” Portishead
    8) “Mudcrutch” Mudcrutch
    9) “Now That’s What I Call Music Vol. 27” Various Artists
    10) “Greatest Hits-Limited Edition” Tim McGraw
    11) “Taylor Swift” Taylor Swift
    12) “Nine Lives” Steve Winwood
    13) “Juno Soundtrack” Various Artists
    14) “Alvin & The Chipmunks Soundtrack” Various Artists
    15) “This Kind of Love” Carly Simon
    16) “Sleep Through the Static” Jack Johnson
    17) “Flight of the Concords Soundtrack”Flight of the Concords
    18) “Troubadour” George Strait
    19) “Coco” Colbie Caillat
    20) “The Best of Both Worlds Concert” Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus

    Top 20 Singles:

    1) “Bleeding Love” Leona Lewis
    2) “Lollipop” Lil’ Wayne feat Static Major
    3) “No Air” Chris Brown & Jordin Sparks
    4) “Love in This Club” Usher feat. Young Jeezy
    5) “Sexy Can I” Ray J. & Yung Berg
    6) “4 Minutes” Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake
    7) “Touch My Body” Mariah Carey
    8) “Pocketful of Sunshine” Natasha Bedingfield
    9) “Love Song” Sara Bareilles
    10) “Leavin’” Jesse McCartney
    11) “Damaged” Danity Kane
    12) “Low” Flo-Rida feat. T-Pain
    13) “Say” John Mayer
    14) “See You Again” Miley Cyrus
    15) “Forever” Chris Brown
    16) “With You” Chris Brown
    17) “Stop & Stare” OneRepublic
    18) “Don’t Stop the Music” Rihanna
    19) “Bust it Baby” Plies feat. Ne-Yo
    20) “Realize” Colbie Caillat

    *Colbie Caillat might be the most befuddling music purchase I’ve made in the past year. I guess it was one of those “let me see what the fuss is all about” purchases, and the fact is, she’s the most boring, white bread girl with an acoustic guitar in the history of music. She makes Jack Johnson (who I love, by the way) sound like freakin’ Mastodon by comparison.

    *Hmmm…so I thought Plies was going to be a one-hit wonder. Thanks to Ne-Yo, “Bust it Baby” becomes his second hit. Too bad I can’t even remember what the first one was.

    *Record industry folks, take a look at this stat. Of this week,s Top 20 singles, only five are by artists who have been around for 10 years or more (Li’l Wayne, Usher, Mariah Carey, Madonna and Ray J.). It also might be worth noting that of those five, Wayne, Usher and Ray J, are all under 30. Now, check out the album chart, where of the 16 albums that are not soundtracks or compilations, 10 of the artists/bands have been around for 10 years or more (and yes, I’m counting Mudcrutch, Tom Petty’s latest side project). Of the 6 remaining artists, all except Miley Cyrus are considered more “adult”-type artists. That should provide the world’s simplest reasoning for the fact that kids are buying singles (possibly because they can’t *afford* albums…hello??) and adults are buying albums. Can it get any more simple?

    *Usher finds himself in the bizarre position of having the same song on the Top 100 twice…sort of. “Love in This Club Part II”, which features Beyonce, is hanging out at #51. I don’t think the Billboard folks have explained yet why the two songs aren’t combined on the chart, assuming “Part II” is just a remix of “Part I”. Even if the songs sound completely different…the two versions of J. Lo’s “I’m Real” were completely different and they charted together.

    *Is Lyfe Jennings, who debuts in the Top 5 for the second consecutive time, becoming the 21st century Gerald LeVert…a consistently-selling R&B crooner that mainstream radio and media COMPLETELY ignores?

    *On their Def Jam swan song, The Roots tie “Things Fall Apart” with the highest debut of their career, at #6 (granted, with about half the sales, but still…)

    *”Idol”‘s ratings might be declining, but it’s influence is still strong. A performance of “Pocketful of Sunshine” moves Natasha Bedingfield into the Top 10 for the second time (following the ridiculously overplayed “Unwritten”), and the album also takes a huge jump. Meanwhile, Neil Diamond, who mentored the contestants in the same episode, is poised to score his first #1 album EVER next week, with “Idol” runner-up Gay…uh, Clay Aiken trailing at #2. In non-“Idol” debuts, look for big singles chart splashes from Rihanna and Coldplay’s new songs.

    …why do I feel like i should now be saying “keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars”? Damn you, Casey Kasem!!

  • Mike’s Gripes Vol. 1: Mariah Carey


    No, I’m not writing this to discuss her marriage to bad actor/bad rapper/semi-funny comedian Nick Cannon. Hey, if Mariah’s happy (after what seems like decades of bad relationships), then more power to her.

    I’m writing this to discuss the slippery slope of suckitude that her music has bobbled around for nearly a decade now. Not that Mariah’s ever been a particularly consistent listening experience-even this diehard pop fan can’t think of more than 2 or 3 Mariah albums completely worth your time. However, her last two albums in particular have been hailed almost as masterpieces by a segment of the critical community when they’re, well…they’re not very good.

    Hey, I don’t want to hear “Hero” again either, you know? But I can see what people are getting at when they turn their noses up at “hip-hop” Mariah. Not only has she caught the same excessive collaboration bug that’s afflicted just about every pop & R&B performer of recent days, but she seems to have regressed lyrically. She’s never exactly been Joni Mitchell (or even Mary J. Blige), but her earlier songs had a maturity to them that newer songs like “Touch My Body” completely lack. And “Touch” is one of the *better* written songs on her new “E=MC2” album.

    Despite the fact that “E=MC2” is well on it’s way to unseating Jack Johnson as 2008’s best-selling album, it’s not much different qualitatively than Mariah’s two relative “flops”: “Glitter” and “Charmbracelet”. From the hip-hopped out “One Sweet Day” rewrite of “Bye Bye” to about 4 or 5 songs that directly rip Mariah’s comeback smash “We Belong Together”, the album is overall a lazy and unadventurous experience. And while contemporaries like the aforementioned Blige seem to be at their creative peaks in their late thirties, Mariah (who’s just a year and change older than Mary J.) seems to be regressing. Listen to “Love Takes Time” or “Can’t Let Go” (two of her best early career songs) and then listen to…well, just about any song on “E=MC2” or even half of “Emancipation”. The difference is almost startling.

    For my money, her best work came on mid-career albums like “Daydream” and “Butterfly”. The former album is her only completely satisfying listening experience other than her debut. I can even tolerate her somewhat sappy cover of Journey’s “Open Arms” (although I’m not sure I can say the same about the overwrought Boyz II Men collaboration “One Sweet Day”, which I’ve deliberately avoided listening to for at least a decade) but it’s the album that best balances “Adult Contemporary Mariah” with “Urban Mariah”. The latter album ODs a bit on the collaborations (“Breakdown” with Bone Thugs ‘n Harmony, is particularly atrocious), but makes up for it with a wicked awesome song built on Mobb Deep’s unforgettable “Shook Ones” sample (“The Roof”), her all-time best ballad (the title track) and a truly bizarro cover of Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones” with Dru Hill (‘memba them??). She’s more or less been off the rails ever since. And even though I own each of the five albums she’s recorded since, there’s maybe an album and a half’s worth of great material between them.

    Despite her astounding success (hell, she has more #1 singles than anyone except for the friggin’ BEATLES) and the fact that critics seem to actually dig her nowadays, it’s probably safe to say that not only has Mariah’s music been decidedly average for the past ten years or so, but that it’s *never* been consistently great. How she’s sustained a two-decade career as (more or less) nothing more than a pretty solid singles artist is one of those mysteries I don’t think I’ll ever figure out.

    …but it might be interesting to see her as a guest on “Wild ‘N Out”…